1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a storm door mortise lock and more specifically to a storm door mortise lock that prevents a lockout situation.
2. Prior Art
Storm door mortise locks typically have a dead bolt that is activated by a key cylinder body having a cam. The cam is rotated by either turning a thumb turn button or by use of the correct key in the key cylinder.
The key cylinder body of the prior art created a danger that a lockout situation could occur. If the cam was over rotated, it would fall out of the notch in the dead bolt assembly and if the dead bolt assembly stopped in a position wherein the cam cannot re-enter the dead bolt. This could leave the dead bolt engaged without a means to disengage it, commonly known as a lockout situation. This would greatly inconvenience the storm door operator and possibly require the disassembly of the storm door. There is therefore a need for a mortise lock that will prevent a lockout situation.
As seen in FIG. 4, one solution of preventing a lockout situation is to provide stops to halt the forward and rearward movement of the cam. While this prevents a lockout situation, there is no biasing effect by the stops against the cam to provide a positive feedback to the user that the deadbolt is moving from an unlocked to locked position and vice versa. There is therefore a need for a spring that influences the cam to provide a positive feedback of movement.
In addition, the prior art utilized a spring on the inside of the deadbolt. This spring acted upon the cam to bias it toward the stop and out of the plane of the deadbolt. If there was a flaw in the stop such as a crack, an improperly bent stop, or improperly placed stop the spring could push the cam out of the plane of the deadbolt and cause a lockout situation. There is therefore a need for a spring located outside the deadbolt which biases the cam into the plane of the deadbolt thus preventing a lockout situation.
Still further, the prior art does not use a cam that is interconnected with the dead bolt. This lack of interconnection provides the possibility of a lockout situation as there becomes wear on the stops. In addition, during mass manufacture of the mortise lock it is important to have a rapid evaluation process of interconnectivity that results in preventing a lockout situation. Therefore, there is a need for an interconnection with the cam which prevents a lockout situation and provides for rapid evaluation during the manufacturing process to assure that a lockout situation is prevented.
There is therefore a need for a storm door with a mortise lock that avoids these and other problems.
Features of the Present Invention
A general feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock which overcomes the problems found in the prior art.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock that includes built in stops in the deadbolt to prevent a lockout situation.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock that has a spring which provides positive feedback that the deadbolt is moving from an unlocked to a locked position.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock with a cam body interacting with the spring which provides positive feedback that the deadbolt is moving from an unlocked to a locked position.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock that includes a spring biasing the cam inside the plane of the deadbolt.
A still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a storm door mortise lock that interconnects the deadbolt with the cam to prevent a lockout situation.
These, as well as other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims.